Electives Information

General InformationDuring the second and third years, each resident has a total of twenty weeks of elective time available in which to develop special interests and proficiencies. Residents may choose to spend eight weeks of elective time at other facilities at some distance from the program.
Examples of electives from recent years include:
Focused OB experience in Ghana and Nicaragua
Rural healthcare across the globe, from Alaska to Zimbabwe
Community-oriented primary care in Guatemala, Mexico, and Nepal
Integrative medicine
Promoting wellness in underserved populations
Additional abortion training
Intensive vasectomy training
Indian Health Service sites in California and elsewhere
Outpatient cancer prevention, screening skills
Module development for colposcopy training at the residency
Geriatric medicine in Australia
Family therapy and hypnosis training
Maternity care with nurse-midwives at a birthing center
Preventive medicine and patient education
Osteopathy
Hyperbaric medicine
Cardiology and oncology including folk beliefs and remedies in Vietnam
Hospital and clinical experience in Japan and India
Spanish immersion courses in Costa Rica, Guatemala, and Spain
Acupuncture training in China
Additional sub-specialty experiences at local, university based, national, or international sites: cardiology, neurology, orthopedics, HIV, rheumatology, endocrinology, critical care medicine, emergency medicine/trauma, gynecology, sports medicine, dermatology, etc.

Physician Acupuncture Training Course

Sutter lakeside

Adolescent Medicine

Transgender Health

Asylum Training

Plant based diet and preconception wellness research

Palliative Care Shadowing

Spanish Language School in Oaxaca, MX

Brief Experiences

Dr. PitzenDr. Pitzen is a physician in private practice in Sebastopol. He has been practicing full-scope family medicine for many years. He is an excellent teacher!